MS-900 Describe cloud concepts Practice Test 3 — 15 Questions

Question 1

While preparing a Microsoft 365 adoption plan, a consultant is asked to avoid buying servers upfront and pay monthly based on usage. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Operational expenditure (OpEx) model. The operational expenditure (OpEx) model is correct because it aligns with the requirement to avoid upfront capital investment (CapEx) and instead pay monthly based on usage. In Microsoft 365, this is delivered through subscription-based licensing (e.g., per-user per-month plans), which shifts costs from large upfront server purchases to predictable monthly payments that scale with consumption.

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Sensitivity labels

Answer

Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

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Microsoft Planner

Question 2

A service owner is comparing Microsoft 365 capabilities and needs to host custom applications on virtual machines while managing the operating system. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) provides virtualized computing resources over the internet, including virtual machines where the user manages the operating system and can host custom applications. This matches the requirement because the service owner needs full control over the OS and the ability to deploy custom applications without managing physical hardware.

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Platform as a Service (PaaS)

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Hybrid cloud

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Software as a Service (SaaS)

Question 3

During requirements gathering, an IT manager says the organization must deploy application code without maintaining the operating system or runtime platform. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS). Platform as a Service (PaaS) is the correct choice because it provides a managed hosting environment where you can deploy your own application code without needing to manage the underlying operating system or runtime platform. The IT manager's requirement explicitly states they want to avoid maintaining the OS and runtime, which is the core value proposition of PaaS. In contrast, IaaS would require them to manage the OS and runtime themselves.

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Private cloud

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Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

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Software as a Service (SaaS)

Question 4

A compliance-aware administrator is selecting the right Microsoft 365 capability to add and remove capacity quickly when demand changes. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Rapid elasticity. Rapid elasticity is a core cloud computing concept defined by NIST (SP 800-145) that allows resources to be provisioned and released automatically in response to demand. In Microsoft 365, this is demonstrated by the ability to add or remove user licenses (e.g., via the Microsoft 365 admin center or PowerShell) on a per-seat basis, scaling capacity up or down almost instantly without manual infrastructure changes.

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Microsoft Planner

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Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

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Sensitivity labels

Question 5

A department head asks which Microsoft 365 option should be used to meter compute and storage usage for consumption-based billing. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Measured service. Measured service is a core cloud computing concept where resource usage (compute, storage, network) is metered and billed based on actual consumption. In Microsoft 365, this aligns with consumption-based billing models like pay-as-you-go for Azure services or per-user licensing adjustments, enabling cost transparency and optimization.

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Sensitivity labels

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Microsoft Planner

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Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Question 6

An administrator is reviewing a request from users who need to let users provision resources from a portal without provider interaction. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

On-demand self-service. The requirement describes users provisioning resources from a portal without provider interaction, which is the core definition of on-demand self-service as defined by NIST SP 800-145. In Microsoft 365, this maps to capabilities like users creating Teams, SharePoint sites, or Azure resources via self-service portals without IT intervention.

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Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

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Microsoft Planner

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Sensitivity labels

Question 7

A tenant administrator is advising a department that wants to use Microsoft 365 and another public cloud provider for different workloads. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Multi-cloud. C is correct because multi-cloud refers to using multiple public cloud providers (e.g., Microsoft 365 and another provider like AWS or Google Cloud) for different workloads, which directly matches the requirement. This allows the organization to avoid vendor lock-in, optimize costs, and leverage best-of-breed services across clouds.

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Microsoft Planner

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Sensitivity labels

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Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Question 8

A business stakeholder asks how Microsoft 365 can help them access cloud resources from laptops, tablets, and phones over the internet. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Broad network access. Broad network access is a core NIST cloud computing characteristic that enables resources to be accessed over the network by standard mechanisms (e.g., mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and workstations). This directly matches the stakeholder's requirement for accessing cloud resources from various devices over the internet, as Microsoft 365 leverages HTTPS and standard protocols to provide ubiquitous access.

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Sensitivity labels

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Microsoft Planner

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Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Question 9

While preparing a Microsoft 365 adoption plan, a consultant is asked to reduce maintenance of power, cooling, and server replacement. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Reduced data center management. Reduced data center management is the correct answer because the requirement to reduce maintenance of power, cooling, and server replacement directly maps to the cloud benefit of offloading physical infrastructure responsibilities to the cloud provider. In Microsoft 365, this is realized through the shared responsibility model where Microsoft manages the underlying hardware, facilities, and environmental controls, allowing the organization to focus on application and data management rather than data center operations.

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Microsoft Planner

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Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

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Sensitivity labels

Question 10

During requirements gathering, an IT manager says the organization must keep services available during a hardware failure. Cloud concept or benefit best matches this requirement?

Accepted Answer

High availability. High availability (C) is the correct cloud concept because it directly addresses the requirement to keep services operational during hardware failure. In Microsoft 365, high availability is achieved through redundant infrastructure, such as multiple server instances across different Azure availability zones, and automatic failover mechanisms that ensure service continuity without manual intervention.

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Microsoft Planner

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Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

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Sensitivity labels

Question 11

Which cloud computing characteristic allows a company to access resources like storage and databases from any device with an internet connection without needing to manage the physical infrastructure?

Accepted Answer

Broad network access. Broad network access is the correct answer because it describes the ability to access cloud resources (such as storage and databases) over the network via standard protocols (e.g., HTTP/HTTPS, SMB, NFS) from any device (laptop, smartphone, tablet) with an internet connection, without requiring the customer to manage the underlying physical infrastructure. This characteristic is defined by NIST SP 800-145 as 'capabilities are available over the network and accessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms.'

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Rapid elasticity

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Measured service

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Resource pooling

Question 12

A cloud provider uses a multi-tenant model where physical and virtual resources are dynamically assigned and reassigned according to consumer demand. This is an example of which cloud computing characteristic?

Accepted Answer

Resource pooling. Resource pooling is the correct answer because the multi-tenant model described involves the cloud provider pooling physical and virtual resources (e.g., compute, storage, network) to serve multiple consumers, with resources dynamically assigned and reassigned based on demand. This is a core characteristic of cloud computing as defined by NIST SP 800-145, where the provider's resources are pooled to achieve economies of scale while maintaining logical isolation between tenants.

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Rapid elasticity

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On-demand self-service

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Measured service

Question 13

Which cloud computing characteristic allows users to be billed only for the resources they consume, such as processing power, storage, or bandwidth?

Accepted Answer

Measured service. Measured service is the cloud computing characteristic that enables usage-based billing by monitoring, controlling, and reporting resource consumption (e.g., CPU hours, GB of storage, or data transfer) at a granular level. This metering capability allows providers to charge customers only for what they actually use, rather than a flat fee, and is typically implemented via telemetry and billing APIs.

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On-demand self-service

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Broad network access

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Resource pooling

Question 14

A development team wants to deploy a custom web application to the cloud. They want to upload their code and let the cloud provider handle server infrastructure, operating system updates, and automatic scaling. Which cloud service model best fits this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS). Platform as a Service (PaaS) is the correct choice because it provides a managed hosting environment where the development team can upload their custom web application code without managing the underlying server infrastructure, operating system updates, or scaling. Azure App Service, a PaaS offering, automatically handles OS patching, load balancing, and auto-scaling based on demand, aligning perfectly with the requirement to let the cloud provider handle these tasks.

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Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

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Software as a Service (SaaS)

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On-premises deployment

Question 15

A company wants to use a cloud service where they can deploy their own custom applications without managing the underlying operating system or hardware. The cloud provider handles the runtime, middleware, and infrastructure. Which cloud service model best fits this requirement?

Accepted Answer

Platform as a Service (PaaS). Platform as a Service (PaaS) is the correct model because it provides a managed environment where the company can deploy custom applications without managing the underlying OS, hardware, runtime, or middleware. The cloud provider handles all infrastructure and platform layers, allowing developers to focus solely on code and application logic.

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Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

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Software as a Service (SaaS)

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Desktop as a Service (DaaS)